


G B DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

1 025 UNITE D STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director 



-IkHeM 



Water-Supply Paper 260 



PRELIMINARY REPORT 



ON THE 



GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY 

NEW MEXICO 



BY 



OSCAR E. MEINZER 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1910 




Class 
Book 




MUMS' 



DEPA RTM E N T ( 1 1" T 1 1 E I X T E RIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

■ 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH. DlXBCTOB 



Water- Supply Paper 2<>0 



PRELIMINARY REPORT 



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GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY 

NEW MEXICO 



BY 



OSCAR E. MEIXZER 

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WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

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OCT 3 1910 



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CONTENTS. 



Fapp. 

Introduction 5 

Location and area 5 

Geographic relations 5 

Development 5 

Investigation and reports 6 

Outline of the geology 6 

Valley fill 6 

Work of the streams 6 

Distribution of alluvial deposits G 

Origin of alluvial deposits 7 

Character of alluvial deposits 7 

Work of the lake 7 

Shore features 8 

Lake sediments 8 

Beach material 8 

Stratified sediments 8 

Work of the wind 9 

Salt basins and clay hills 9 

Soils 10 

Red loamy soil 10 

Sandy soils 10 

Alkali soils 10 

Water , 13 

Source and disposal 13 

Evaporation from the surface 13 

Mountain springs and streams 13 

Floods 13 

Underflow 13 

Overfilling of underground reservoir 14 

Ground-water table 15 

Recovery of ground water 15 

Yield of wells in the valley fill 15 

Available quantity of ground water 10 

Quality of the water 17 

Dissolved solids 17 

Methods of investigation L8 

Chlorine 19 

Cause 1 of salinity 20 

Effect of dissolved solids 21 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Irrigation . 24 

Utilization of ground water 24 

Present development 24 

Possibilities of future development 24 

Proper type of irrigation systems 24 

Proper types of wells 24 

Gravity infiltration ditches 25 

Cost of pumping 26 

Windmills 28 

Value of crops 29 

Best use of the water 30 

The alkali problem 31 

Summary 33 



PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE GROUND WATERS OF 
ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 



By Oscar E. Meinzer. 



INTRODUCTION. 

LOCATION AND AREA. 

Estancia Valley lies near the geographic center of New Mexico, 
south of Santa Fe and east of Albuquerque. The valley is a depres- 
sion with no drainage outlet. It has a maximum extent of about 65 
miles north and south and 40 miles east and west, and includes an 
area of about 2,000 square miles. 

GEOGRAPHIC RELATIONS. 

On the west Estancia Valley is separated from the Rio Grande 
valley by a mountain wall; on the east it is bordered by a maze of 
hills which divide it from the upland that slopes toward the Pecos 
Valley; on the north it rises gradually until it ends abruptly as a 
plateau overlooking the valley of Galisteo Creek, which flows west- 
ward into the Rio Grande ; on the southwest it is terminated by a mesa ; 
and on the southeast, where it is hemmed in between the mesa and 
the hills, it is separated by a low divide from another closed basin. 

DEVELOPMENT. 

This valley has long supported a sparse population. Nestled in 
the western foothills, remote from any city or railroad, the Mexican 
villages of Chilili, Tajique, Torreon, Manzano, and Punta de Agua 
have for generations led a peaceful but primitive existence, their 
inhabitants depending for a livelihood chiefly on their flocks of sheep. 
Moreover, planted here and there on the broad, level expanses of the 
valley proper are isolated establishments which have been the 
homes of independent and prosperous ranchers, most of whom are 
Mexicans. 

But within the last decade a great change has taken place in this 
region. Two railways have been built — the Santa Fo Central, which 
traverses the entire length of the valley, and the "Belen cut-off" of 

5 



6 GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCTA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 

the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which crosses its south- 
ern part. Hundreds of homesteaders have come to take possession of 
the land, and eight villages have sprung up along the railways. 

INVESTIGATION AND REPORTS. 

Insufficient rainfall during recent years has caused crop failures and 
has created an urgent demand for an investigation of the feasibility 
of irrigating with ground water. In response to this demand and for 
the purpose of classifying the land under the enlarged-homestead 
act, an examination of the valley covering a period of six weeks was 
made by the writer in the summer of 1909. The time available was 
not sufficient to permit a thorough investigation. Hence attention 
was given especially to the more pressing and practical phases of the 
problem. 

A report embodying all the results of the work has been prepared, 
but this report contains maps and other illustrations which will delay 
its publication, so that some months must elapse before it will be ready 
for distribution. In view of the rapid development now under way 
in the valley and the immediate need of the settlers there for all the 
definite information that can be supplied, it has seemed desirable to 
abstract from the complete report the facts and deductions that are 
of most practical value and to publish them in this brief prelimi- 
nary paper. 

OUTLIXE OF THE GEOLOGY. 

VALLEY FILL. 

The hard rock floor of Estancia Yalley is covered by deposits that 
may be grouped under the general term "valley fill." Xearly all 
these sediments came originally from the highlands that border the 
valley and are the product of thousands of years of weathering and 
denudation. The erosive processes which have carved the canyons 
and given form to the serrate peaks have at the same time supplied 
the material that has accumulated in the lowlands as the valley fill. 

WORK OF THE STREAMS. 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS. 

Apparently the bulk of the valley fill consists of alluvial deposits — 
that is, of materials laid down by streams and not rehandled by any 
other agency. Such deposits underlie the broad belt comprising the 
alluvial slopes, are interbedded and intermingled with lake deposits in 
the littoral zone, as can be seen in many natural and artificial expo- 
sures, and probably occur at no great depths below the lake sediments 
in the lake flat and clay hill area. Their relation to the lake deposits 
can be best understood after the latter have been described (p. 8). 



OUTLINE OF THE GEOLOGY. 7 

The alluvial material is much thicker in some localities than in 
others. If the interpretations of the well sections are correct, the 
total thickness of the valley fill is 312 feet at Willard, 225 feet in the 
' test wells 4 miles east of Estancia, and 233 feet in H. C. Williams's 
well south of Estancia. L. Knight's deep well (in the NE. \ sec. 1, 
T. 5 N., R. 8 E.) was carried to a depth of 240 feet without encounter- 
ing rock. Tn many parts of the valley, however, especially on its east 
and west margins, the alluvium is much thinner and rock crops out. 

ORIGIN OF THE ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS. 

The alluvial deposits were laid down by streams which were prob- 
ably intermittent and exceedingly irregular in their flow, depending 
then, as now, chiefly on the sudden and capricious visitations of heavy 
local storms. The work of these streams was correspondingly capri- 
cious and variable; at one place they eroded, only to deposit a little 
farther on the load which they thus picked up ; at one place they left 
behind coarse gravel, and at another they laid down only fine silt. 
The same locality was at different times subjected to all these condi- 
tions and, moreover, by the frequent changing of the courses of the 
streams, was at one time an arroyo and at another an int erst ream 
area. It is therefore not surprising that the alluvial deposits consist 
of heterogeneous beds which have little continuity or regularity, and 
that two wells in the same locality should have quite different sections. 

CHARACTER OF THE ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS. 

Most of the alluvial material consists of clay with which are asso- 
ciated pebbles and bowlders of different sizes and composition. In 
general the pebbles and bowlders decrease, both in size and abun- 
dance, from the mountain borders, where bowlder beds with little 
or no clay may occur, toward the central portion of the valley, where 
clay virtually free from pebbles may be found. But though coarse 
materials form a larger proportion of the mass in the regions near 
the mountains than in the interior, yet well sections furnish abundant 
proof that beds of clean gravel and sand occur in the very heart of the 
valley. The composition of the pebbles depends on the kind of 
rocks that constitute the uplands and the resistance of these rocks to 
weathering and wear. On the whole, pebbles of limestone are by 
far the most numerous, because this rock is well represented in the 
uplands, especially on the west, and is also resistant in character. 

WORK OF THE LAKE. 

At its period of greatest extension the lake that occupied the central 
portion of the valley was about 35 miles long and 23 miles wide and 
had an area of about 450 square miles. Its maximum depth at this 



8 GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCTA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 

period was almost 150 feet, and its shore line, which nearly coincides 
with the 6,200-foot contour, was about 150 miles long. If this lake 
were now in existence the villages of Estancia and Willard would be 
100 feet under water; Mcintosh and Progreso would also be sub- 
merged; Moriarty and Lucy would virtually be lake ports; and 
Stanley, Mountainair, and Cedar Vale would be inland towns. The 
higher ground which surrounded the lake has been explored every- 
where, but no outlet channel has been found and it is therefore 
certain that the lake had no outlet and that its water was salt. 

The theory of the existence of an ancient lake in the valley is based 
on the presence of shore features and lake sediments. 

SHORE FEATURES. 

Within the littoral zone there are sea cliffs, terraces, beaches, 
beach ridges, spits, and bars. These features are found on all sides 
of the lake flat between the altitudes of 6,100 and 6,200 feet above 
sea level. 

LAKE SEDIMENTS. 

Beach material. — Most of the material constituting the beaches, 
beach ridges, spits, and bars is gravel. The pebbles are waterworn 
and many of them are covered with a gray coat of lime. The best 
exposures of beach material are found in the gaps that have been cut 
through the bars. 

Stratified sediments. — Except where the salt basins and clay hills 
occur, the large area inclosed by the shore zone is exceedingly flat; 
but the salt basins are excavated to depths of 10 to 20 feet and more 
in the material under this plain, and their sides are generally steep 
and thus expose the strata to good advantage. Wells have also been 
dug and these are usually left uncased, showing the materials through 
which they extend. Moreover, many cellars and dugouts have been 
made, most of which likewise remain unlined. Ample opportunity 
is therefore afforded to examine the formation which immediately 
underlies the plain. This formation is totally different from that 
which underlies the alluvial slopes. It is perfectly stratified, con- 
sisting of innumerable thin layers lying one upon another, each layer 
traceable for an indefinite distance. It is precisely the kind of deposit 
which would be formed at the quiet bottom of a large body of stand- 
ing water and which could be formed in no other manner. It was 
observed in many exposures, natural and artificial, and in widely 
separated localities. It is practically coextensive with the lake flat 
and clay hills area and can be seen wherever there is a salt basin, a 
dug well, a cellar, or any other excavation. 

Clay or shale constitutes the bulk of the material, but layers of 
sand are also present and beds of grit and fine gravel were observed 
near the outer margin of the lake flat. 



OUTLINE OF THE GEOLOGY. 9 

Of the thickness of the lake sediments little is definitely known. 
but the available evidence indicates that they are relatively thin and 
are underlain at no great depth by alluvial deposits. The principal 
evidence concerning their thickness is found in the beds of alluvial 
gravel encountered in drilling on the lake flat and in the transition 
in many wells from grayish lake sediments near the surface to alluvial 
deposits of red clay at greater depths. 

WORK OF THE WIND. 

On the east side of the valley there are great masses of wind-blown 
sand, the largest accumulations being found east of Mcintosh, in the 
west-central part of T. 6 X., R. 11 E., and in an adjacent area to the 
west . and in certain localities both north and south of Progreso. Much 
of this sand is heaped into fresh dunes and is at present being han- 
dled by the winds. 

SALT BASINS AND CLAY HILLS. 

The salt basins are found in the lowest portion of Estancia Valley. 
They are not, however, remnants of the ancient lake— not merely 
low spots in which the surplus water collects until it is dissipated by 
evaporation — but are distinct basins sunk below the level of the 
plain by which they are surrounded, and most of them are bordered 
by definite, nearly vertical walls. Their flat bottoms practically 
coincide with the ground -water level and generally consist of mud 
covered with crusts of salt, although after rains they may be sub- 
merged in water. The floor of one basin — Laguna Salina. in sees. 
29 and 30, T. 5 N., R. 10 E.— is covered with salt sufficiently thick 
and pure to be commercially valuable. 

Altogether there are several score of salt basins with a total area 
estimated at 13.500 acres. In this assemblage Laguna del Perro 
assumes relatively gigantic proportions, having a length of about 12 
miles and an area nearly equal to the combined area of all the other 
basins. 

Intimately associated with the salt basins are the clay hills. Within 
the area in which they exist there are many level tracts which are 
essentially a part of the original plain. The highest clay hills rise 
more than 100 feet above the plain on which they rest, but most of 
them are perhaps less than 50 feet high. 

Typically they form huge embankments which more or less com- 
pletely encircle the salt basins. This form is so common that the 
traveler on approaching a hill or ridge confidently expects to find a 
salt basin on the other side. 

59797°— w s p 260—10 2 



10 GBOUXD WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 

SOILS. 

RED LOAMY SOIL. 

The niost widely distributed soil in the valley consists of red clay 
intermingled with varying quantities of grit and gravel. It is seen in 
typical character in the alluvial slopes and arroyos, but it also occurs 
throughout much of the littoral zone and is found far up in the foot- 
hills. It is essentially the product of the weathering of the rocks in 
the surrounding highlands, whence it has been washed out into its 
present position in the manner already described. In general this 
soil is very fertile, as is demonstrated by the large crops that it pro- 
duces when climatic conditions are not unfavorable, and its fertility 
is due largely to its content of soluble substances which serve as plant 
food. These soluble substances have been produced by the weather- 
ing of the rocks and have not been leached out from the soil by per- 
colating waters to so great an extent as in more humid regions. 

SANDY SOILS. 

Sandy soils are found chiefly on the east side of the valley. They 
range from clean, pale-yellow dune sand, winch is worthless for agri- 
culture, to red, earthy sand and red sandy loam, which maybe very 
productive. Sandy soils, like clay and loam soils, have been deprived 
of less of their soluble constituents in arid than in humid regions. 

ALKALI SOILS. 

It has just been stated that most of the soil in Estancia Valley, as 
in arid and semiarid regions generally, is very fertile because of the 
soluble substance which it contains. But if certain soluble sub- 
stances, commonly known as alkalies, exist in soils in quantities too 
large, they are injurious to plant life; hence very fertile soils grade 
readily into alkali soils; and, moreover, soils which at first are very 
productive may, after a period of irrigation and cultivation, become 
harmfully alkaline. On this point Milton Whitney, chief of the 
Bureau of Soils, United States Department of Agriculture, makes the 
following statement: * 

This accumulation explains the -wonderful fertility of the lands generally in the 
arid regions the world over, but it is also a constant menace because of the large amount 
of soluble salts which is liable to accumulate locally as the result of irrigation or as a 
result of other natural conditions not well understood, until they are a menace and 
often a destructive agency for the very lands which were formerly held in such esteem. 

The different kinds of alkali and their effects upon vegetation can 
best be explained by a further quotation from Whitney, as follows: 

The alkali soils of the West are of two principal classes. The alkaline carbonates or 
black alkali (usually sodium carbonate) is the worst form, actually dissolving the 
organic materials of the soil and corroding and killing the germinating seed or roots of 

a Alkali lands: Farmers' Bull. No. 88, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1899, p. 7. 



SOILS. 11 

plants; the white alkalies, the most common of which are sodium sulphate (Glauber's 
salt), sodium chloride (common salt), magnesium sulphate, and magnesium chloride, 
are not in themselves poisonous to plants, nor do they attack the substance of the plant 
roots, but are injurious when, owing to their presence in excessive amounts, they pre- 
vent the plants from taking up their needed food and water supply. 

The amount of soluble salts which plants can stand depends upon the character of 
the salt, the character of the soil, and the kind of plant. Hilgard states that few plants 
can stand as much as 0.1 per cent of sodium carbonate; of sodium chloride plants can 
stand about 0.25 per cent, and of sodium sulphate 0.45 to 0.5 per cent. Plants can 
stand less salts in sandy lands than on heavy clay or gumbo lands. It is a well known 
fact that crops also differ in their ability to stand salts, and many crops will grow well 
upon soils on which others will not live. 

Investigations at Billings, Mont., showed that when the concentration of the salts 
in active solution in the soil moisture is as great as 1 per cent the limit of most culti- 
vated plants is reached. Further concentration kills all our ordinary agricultural 
crops. It was found, furthermore, that plants could just exist with 0.45 per cent of 
the soluble salts present, and this is taken as the limit of plant production. 

A later statement by C. W. Dorsey, a of the Bureau of Soils, is as 
follows : 

Of the different classes of alkali, sodium carbonate, or black alkali, is considered the 
most injurious. Laboratory experiments have shown that magnesium chloride and 
sulphate are as injurious, if not more injurious than sodium carbonate. After these 
salts comes sodium chloride (ordinary salt) and sodium sulphate. When present in 
soils to the exclusion of other salts, 0.05 per cent of sodium carbonate presents about 
the upper limit of concentration for common crops. One-half of 1 per cent of sodium 
chloride is commonly regarded as the endurance limit of crops, and 1 per cent of 
sodium sulphate. Sodium sulphate, then, is the least injurious and sodium carbonate 
the most injurious of the salts usually constituting the greater part of alkali under 
ordinary field conditions, while sodium chloride occupies a middle position. 

Gypsum (calcium sulphate) acts as an antidote for black alkali by 
reacting with it to form (1) calcium carbonate, which is harmless, 
and (2) sodium sulphate, which is a less injurious white alkali. A 
soil that contains a large amount of gypsum would therefore not 
be expected to contain much black alkali, although it may contain 
some. 6 

In Estancia Valley the shallow-water belt, the ancient lake bed, 
the area of highly mineralized waters, and the area in which the 
most alkaline soils are found all coincide approximately with one 
another, because all are results of the same general causal conditions. 
The rain that falls on the highland borders naturally flows toward the 
lowest area, where it accumulates until it is disposed of by evapora- 
tion. Whether it here stands slightly below the general surface of 
the ground, as at present, or a short distance above the surface, as 
during the Pleistocene epoch, when a lake existed, is merely an inci- 
dent in the general circulation. The important facts in this con- 

« Reclamation or alkali soils: Hull. Bureau of Soils No. 34, U. S. Dept. Agr., L906, i>. 10. 

& Cameron, F. K., Application of the theory of solution to the study of soils: Field operations, Div. of 

Soils, 1899, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1900, pp. 152 et scq. Bilgard, E. \\\, Soils, Marmillan Co.. New York, 1900, 
pp. 449 et seq., 457, 458. 



12 



GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 



nection are that in its course it dissolves and carries along the soluble 
constituents which it encounters in the rocks and soil, and that on 
its evaporation these soluble constituents are left behind, thus 
becoming concentrated in the lowest portion of the valley. The 
crusts of alkali which cover the salt basins are visible illustrations of 
the process that has impregnated with alkali the soil of the low area. 
Samples of soil were collected at five points within the lake flat 
along a line extending eastward from Estancia for a distance of 6 
miles, and these samples were analyzed by the United States Bureau 
of Soils with the following results: 

Analyses of soil in Estancia Valley. 



Location. 



Estancia. NW. | sec-. 12. T.6N..R.8E., at the inter- 
section of the railway with the section line. 



T. J. Moore, northeast corner of SW. | sec. 5. T. 6 X. 
B.9E. 



Southwest corner of sec. 4. T. 6 X.. R. 9 E 



N. Williams, southwest corner of SE. | sec. 3. T. 6 N .. 
R.9E. 



H. N. Summers, southeast corner of SW. \ sec. 1. T. G 
X.. R. 9 E. 



Depth 


Soluble 




within 


solids 




which the 


(alkalies . 


Predominating salts in the 


material 


per cent 


order named. 


was 


of total 




obtained. 


material. 




Fat. 






1 


0.2 


Chlorides and biearbonates. 


2 


.3 


Do. 


3 


.8 


Sulphates and chlorides. 


4 


1.0 


Do. 


5 


1.2 


Do. 


6 


1.0 


Do. 


1 


-1 


Do. 


2 


1.4 


Chlorides and sulphates. 


3 


1.3 


Sulphates and biearbonates. 


4 


1.5 


Do. 


5 


2.1 


Sulphates and chlorides. 


6 


1.6 


Do. 


1 




Do. 


o 


~ 


Chlorides and sulphates. 


3 


3": 


Sulphates and chlorides. 


1 


3.9 


Do. 


-5 


3.7 


Do. 


6 


3.5 


Do. 


1 


2.5 


Do. 


2 


2.7 


Do. 


3 


2.9 


Do. 


4 


2.7 


Do. 


5 


2.9 


Do. 


6 


3.5 


Do. 


1 


1.6 


Do. 


2 


2.8 


Do. 


3 


3.7 


Do. 


4 


4.5 


Do. 


5 


3.6 


Do. 


6 


4.5 


Do. 



In respect to these analyses J. A. BonsteeL in charge of soil sur- 
veys, writes: 

It is apparent to the student of soils and soil conditions in the basin region that 
these soils are very heavily loaded with alkali salts, comparing more directly with 
those of old desiccated lake basins than with any of the agricultural lands now occu- 
pied in the United States. You will also notice the continual appearance of chlorides 
in practically all of the samples. From this I judge that the soil samples were taken 
from a decidedly alkaline tract, probably a desiccated lake bed. Only the most effi- 
cient tile underdrainage would render the majority of these soils capable of producing 
crops. 



SOURCE AND DISPOSAL OF WATER. 13 

WATER. 

SOURCE AND DISPOSAL. 

If the mean annual precipitation for the entire Estancia basin is 
assumed to be 15 inches, the total amount of water that falls as rain 
or snow in an average year on the basin is approximately 1,600,000 
acre-feet. If it is further assumed that within recent years the quan- 
tity of ground water has not materially increased nor decreased, it 
follows that the same amount is, on the average, withdrawn each year 
from the Estancia basin. This withdrawal is accomplished by evap- 
oration into the atmosphere and b} r seepage through underground 
passages to lower points outside of the basin. No water leaves the 
basin in surface streams. 

EVAPORATION FROM THE SURFACE. 

Much of the water that falls as rain or snow returns to the atmos- 
phere by being evaporated, either directly from the surface before it 
soaks into the ground or else after it has soaked a short distance into 
the ground, from which it is again withdrawn by vegetation or by 
capillary action in the soil. The proportion of moisture thus disposed 
of is greatest for the lightest showers and least for the heaviest and 
most persistent rains. 

MOUNTAIN SPRINGS AND STREAMS. 

Some of the moisture that falls on the mountains seeps into the 
pores and crevices of the rocks, but reappears at lower levels, where 
it issues in numerous springs that give rise to brooks or rivulets, most 
of which disappear long before they reach the valley, the water being 
dissipated both by evaporation and by seepage into the ground. 
Springs and streams of this type in the canyons and foothills of the 
Manzano Range have determined the location of the old Mexican 
settlements of Chilili, Tajique, Manzano, Punta de Agua, Torreon, and 
the settlement south of Torreon. 

FLOODS. 

In the entire basin there are no permanent streams except the tiny 
ones just mentioned, but there are many wide stream channels, or 
arroyos, which are normally dry but which during heavy storms carry 
water. The water of most of these floods is lost in the arroyos, but 
that of a few of the largest reaches the central flat and there soaks 
into the earth. Probably these floods furnish most of the ground 
water in the valley fill. 

UNDERFLOW. 

Though the valley includes no important permanent surface stream 
it contains a great body of ground water which, below a certain depth, 



14 GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 

fills every pore, crack, and crevice. From time to time this great 
body of water receives contributions from portions of the rainfall 
that escape evaporation. It is not, however, a stationary mass, for 
it moves constantly though very slowly away from the upland border 
and toward the low central portion of the basin. 

OVERFILLING OF UNDERGROUND RESERVOIR. 

If the ground water is constantly augmented by contributions from 
the rainfall, and if this newly acquired water moves constantly toward 
the center of the valley, it would be expected that in the central region 
the pores and crevices of the ground above the bed rock would even- 
tually all become filled and the underground reservoir would over- 
flow. This is essentially what takes place, the surplus being returned 
to the surface or brought so near to the surface that it can be reached 
by evaporation. The surplus is disposed of in three ways — (1) by 
overflow from valley springs; (2) by evaporation from the salt basins; 
and (3) by evaporation directly from the ground water wherever it 
rises near enough to the surface to come within the reach of the atmos- 
phere through capillarity. In each of the three ways the ground 
water is returned to the atmosphere by evaporation. 

Where the ground water lies sufficiently near the surface* it is with- 
drawn in the same manner and by the same process that kerosene is 
withdrawn through the wick of a burning lamp. The soil is the wick. 
The moisture at the top of the soil is constantly being removed by 
evaporation just as the kerosene at the top of the wick is removed by 
burning, and new moisture is drawn up through the pores of the soil 
just as new kerosene is drawn up through the pores of the wick. 
In both cases the liquid is lifted by capillarity. But the height to 
which a liquid can be thus raised is greater for small pores than for 
large ones. Thus, water can be lifted higher, although less rapidly, 
in a clay soil, which has small pores, than in a sandy soil, which has 
large pores. 

It is not now possible to make an estimate of the height to which 
capillarity is effective in the soils of Estancia Valley or of the quan- 
tity of water withdrawn from the underground store by this process, 
but the quantity is undoubtedly large. Near the McGillivray well in 
Estancia, where the ground water is only about 5 feet below the sur- 
face, incrustations of salt were observed, although similar incrusta- 
tions were not seen in places in the same locality where the depth to 
ground water is greater. Incrustations are not found on the red soil 
that lies at a higher level to the west nor, as a rule, on the " ashy" soil 
which lies at a lower level to the east. East of Moriarty, also, there 
are areas in which water lies at shallow depths and which show traces 
of salt at the surface, such as are not generally found in the central 
part of the valley. The explanation seems to be that in areas where 



RECOVERY OF GROUND WATER. 15 

the depth to ground water is slight the water is drawn to the surface, 
where it evaporates and leaves its content of salt. (See discussion 
of quality of the water, pp. 17-23.) 

GROUND- WATER TABLE. 

Over an area of about 240 square miles (including the salt basins) 
the ground water stands within 25 feet of the surface; over an area of 
about 210 square miles it stands between 25 and 50 feet below the 
surface; and over an area of about 250 square miles it stands between 
50 and 100 feet below the surface. Thus over a total area of about 
450 square miles it is less than 50 feet below the surface, and over a 
total area of at least 700 square miles it is less than 100 feet below the 
surface. The area in which it lies less than 50 feet below the surface 
includes the low central plain and extends far up the large arroyos, 
especially Arroyo Mesteno. 

RECOVERY OF GROUND WATER. 

In the foregoing pages it has been shown that the ground water 
constantly receives new supplies on the high land and that it 
migrates slowly but constantly toward the valley, where the excess is 
disposed of by evaporation. On its way a small amount is at present 
intercepted and pumped to the surface. The practical question is, 
To what extent can the water be thus recovered for use ? Two 
phases of this question will here be considered — (1) the yield of wells 
and (2) the total amount of water available. 

YIELD OF WELLS IN THE VALLEY FILL. 

A large amount of miscellaneous information in regard to the yield 
of wells was collected, but unfortunately the bulk of this information is 
of little value because few wells have been sunk deep enough to reach 
the best water horizons, and most of the pumping tests have not 
exceeded a few gallons a minute. Several rather conclusive tests 
were, however, reported, and, through the generous assistance of 
R. B. Cochran, of Estancia, a few others were made in the course of 
this investigation. 

Throughout most of the valley there is no difficulty in obtaining a 
supply that is ample for domestic and stock uses, but in a few locali- 
ties even this amount is hard to obtain. Near the north end of the 
valley no wells were seen, and the prospects of procuring water 
except at considerable depths are not encouraging. In general, the 
yield of wells appears to be better on the west side than on the east 
side of the valley. 

At Willard the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company 
lias drilled a number of wells. The deepest one entered red sandstone 



16 GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 

at 312 feet and was continued in this rock to 440 feet, at which depth 
the drilling was stopped. Within the first 312 feet there were 
numerous beds of coarse gravel that supplied water freely. Fourteen 
8-inch wells were sunk at intervals of about 120 feet to depths of 
approximately 200 feet. An air lift was applied to twelve of these 
wells simultaneously for ten days and nights, practically without 
stopping, and during this period each well yielded 110 gallons a minute 
and the water level was temporarily lowered 3 feet. a The water is 
used extensively on locomotive engines and for other purposes, train 
loads being shipped to points more than 50 miles east. Altogether, 
the consumption from these wells amounts to about 350,000 gallons 
a day or 400 acre-feet a year. 

On the premises of Mrs. McGillivray, in Estancia, two test wells 
were put down— a 6-inch well to a depth of 37 feet and a 10-inch well 
to a depth of 233 feet ending in hard rock. According to the driller, 
the largest supply of water was found at a depth of 33 feet, where the 
drill entered a 4-foot bed of gravel, from which the water rose to a 
point 5 feet below the surface. With a suction pipe extending 16 
feet below the water level, the 6-inch well was successfully pumped 
at a rate approximately 200 gallons a minute. 

In the test wells 4 miles east of Estancia the most water was found, 
according to J. L. Mayo, the driller, in a bed of gravel at a depth of 
about 215 feet, but when the well was pumped at the rate of 15 
gallons a minute the level of the water in the well was considerably 
lowered. The well of Oscar Hadley, 3 miles north and 4 miles east 
of Estancia, which is 94 feet deep, is reported to have been tested at 
about 20 gallons a minute without lowering the water perceptibl} T . 
The well of B. W. Honnold, in the SE. \ sec. 21, T. 7 N., R. 9 E., 
which is 140 feet deep, is reported to have been tested at 18 gallons; 
the 6-inch well of P. M. Rutherford, in the SW. \ sec. 27 in the same 
township, which is 104 feet deep, at 40 gallons; the well of Mr. Camp- 
bell, about 5 miles northeast of Estancia, at 40 gallons; and other 
tests of this kind were reported. On a number of the old ranches 
water has in the past been pumped from wells with steam engines. 

AVAILABLE QUANTITY OF GROUND WATER. 

The rate at wlych wells will yield water is a factor of vital impor- 
tance in determining the feasibility of recovering ground water on a 
large scale, but, contrary to the general supposition, it gives little 
information as to the total quantity available. This quantity is not 
inexhaustible, as is so freely assumed, but the amount that can be 
obtained by large pumps, such as are required for extensive irrigation, 
is sharply limited. The quantity of ground water obtainable can 

a The data in regard to the test were given by John Knowles, who has charge of pumping tests and con- 
struction for the railway company. 



QUALITY OF THE WATER. 17 

not be determined by pumping a few hundred gallons a minute from 
a well for a short period for the same reason that the quantity of 
water in a lake can not be determined by applying to it the same 
pump; and to proceed on the theory that any amount of ground 
water is available for irrigation is even less wise than to plan an 
irrigation project without reference to the flow of the stream on 
which it depends. The essential difference is that the How of the 
stream can be readily and accurately measured, but no such precise 
methods can be applied to ground water, and therefore much more 
caution must be used in carrying out a project that depends upon 
ground water. 

Some idea of the total quantity of water that is stored underground 
can be obtained by considering the sections of wells that have been 
drilled. The average thickness of the water-bearing beds can be 
multiplied by the total area over which they occur, and this prod- 
uct by the percentage of pore space in the material comprising these 
beds, but such an estimate will give little information that is of 
practical value because withdrawals in excess of the new contribu- 
tions will lower the water level, increase the cost of pumping, and 
eventually lead to disaster. Estimates of possible annual recovery 
by man must therefore be based on the annual increment or on the 
surplus annualh - . disposed of by nature, and not on the total quantity 
now stored in the earth. 

Unfortunately the quantity of water that is annually available 

in Estancia Valley can not be accurately determined. From the 

discussion under the heading "Source and disposal" (p. 13), it appears 

that the surplus now disposed of by nature through evaporation 

from the salt basins and other areas of shallow water is a substantial 

quantity. It is difficult to conjecture what percentage of this surplus 

it would be possible to intercept in wells and to pump to the surface. 

It can hardly be hoped that more than this surplus is annually 

available. 

QUALITY OF THE WATER. 

DISSOLVED SOLIDS. 

The rocks which lie near the surface are exposed to weathering 
agencies that disintegrate and decompose them, thereby forming 
certain mineral compounds that are more or less soluble in water. 
The water which falls as rain contains little or no dissolved mineral 
matter, but when it enters the ground and percolates through the 
earth it gradually takes into solution those soluble substances with 
which it comes into contact, and thus it is that ground water always 
contains dissolved mineral matter. As long as this matter is in solu- 
tion it is invisible, but when the water is evaporated, as in a tea- 
kettle or steam boiler or on the surface of the salt basins in Estancia 
59797°— w s p 200—10 3 



18 



GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 



Valley, it is left behind and forms a crust or scale. Ground waters 
differ greatly in the total amount of substances they contain in solu- 
tion and also in the proportions of the different kinds of substances. 
When, by evaporation of the water or some other cause, these sub- 
stances are thrown out of solution, they form mineral salts, such as 
calcium carbonate (limestone), calcium sulphate (gypsum), sodium 
carbonate (black alkali), sodium sulphate (Glauber's salt), and sodium 
chloride (common salt). 

METHODS OF INVESTIGATION. 

During the progress of the field work 84 samples of water were 
collected and examined for their content of the carbonates, bicarbon- 
ates, sulphates, and chlorides. They were chosen from wells or 
other sources which would aid most in interpreting the quality of the 
ground water for the entire region. Thus they were obtained from 
all parts of the valley, but were taken in largest numbers in the central 
area, where the mineral content varies greatly within short distances 
and where its consideration is important in connection with irriga- 
tion. The assays were made in the field by means of the apparatus 
and methods described in Water-Supply Paper 151. In order to 
have some check on the work, and also to have a basis for judging 
the relative amounts of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium, 
a single sample was sent to Prof. J. R. Bailey, of the University of 
Texas, for complete analysis in the laboratory. This sample was 
taken from the well of H. N. Summers, 6 miles east of Estancia, in 
the region where it was especially desirable to know the relative 
amounts of mineral substances in the deeper waters. The following 
table gives the complete analysis, and for purposes of comparison 
the field assay of v a sample taken from the same well on the same day: 

Analysis and field assay of water from well of H. N. Summers, 6 miles east of Estancia. 



Parts per million. 



Ions. 




Silica (SiOa) 

Iron (Fe) 

Aluminum (Al) 

Calcium (Ca) 

Magnesium (Mg) 

Sodium (Na) 

Potassium (K) 

Carbonate radicle (C0 3 ) 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC0 3 ) . . . 

Sulphate radicle (SO4) 

Chlorine (CI) 

Total solids 

Temporary hardness as CaC03 
Free carbon dioxide (CO2) 



0.0 
243 
553 
393 



Sample an- 
alyzed in 
the labora- 
tory. 



19 
.05 
Trace. 
200 
114 
274 
3.8 
.0 
306 
755 
390 
1,956 
251 



QUALITY OF THE WATER. 19 

The field determination agrees closely with the laboratory analysis 
in the content of chlorine, but there are considerable discrepancies 

in the bicarbonate and sulphate determinations. The bicarbonate 
determination is a simple volumetric process with a definite end 
point, and the assays probably gave results that are fairly accurate 
relative to each other. Despite these discrepancies, the field assays 
are of value, especially in throwing light on the problem of the 
utility of the water for irrigation, a problem in which it is desirable 
to have tests from as many localities as possible, but in which great 
precision is not required. 

The table on pages 22-23 presents the results of the 84 field assays. 

CHLORINE. 

In general the chlorine content of these waters is proportionate 
to the amount of common salt that would be deposited by their 
evaporation. The ground waters of Estancia Valley differ widely 
in this respect, the samples analyzed ranging from 7 parts to 16,442 
parts per million in the amount of chlorine that they contain. 

The analyses show the following conditions: (1) That the water 
underlying the western slope (including nearly all of the western allu- 
vial slope and most of the littoral zone) contains small quantities of 
common salt, the chlorine content being uniformly less than 25 parts 
per million; (2) that in this large area the amount of salt does not 
increase notably from the foothills toward the center; (3) that 
throughout a small area in the center of the valley the chlorine con- 
tent is very great, some of the shallow water being so salty that it 
can not be used for watering stock; (4) that between the first and 
the second area there is a zone of fairly pure water which aver- 
ages about 3 miles in width but which has a tendency to extend some 
distance up the arroyos; and (5) that on the east side of the valley 
the water is somewhat higher in its content of salt than on the cor- 
responding west slope. The transition from the fairly pure water 
of the intermediate zone to the strongly saline water in the central 
area is remarkably abrupt; so that on the west side, where there are 
many wells, it is possible to outline with some definiteness the limits 
of the area in which the water has more than 1,000 parts of chlorine. 
The abruptness of this transition is shown by assay No. 59 (J. B. 
Striplin) and assay No. 61 (J. W. Kooken), given in the table (p. 
23). The first sample, coming from a well that is in the inter- 
mediate area, showed only 219 parts of chlorine; the second, taken 
from a well a quarter of a mile farther cast, showed 5,276 parts. 

In the central area the shallowest water is the most strongly saline, 
and the water from deeper sources is, as a rule, much better. How- 
ever, no definite law of variation with depth could be established, and 
it is altogether probable that in some of the deeper wells a certain 



20 GBOUXD WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 

amount of shallow water is admitted by imperfect casing and mingles 
with the deep water that forms the principal supply. Within the 
area in which the shallow water contains more than 1,000 parts, 9 
samples were taken from cased wells in which, so far as could be 
ascertained, the water came from more than 25 feet below the ground- 
water level. In these 9 samples the chlorine content ranged from 
234 parts to 932 parts and averaged 595 parts, whereas 6 samples 
of shallow water within the same area ranged from 1,165 parts to 
16,442 parts and averaged 7,063 parts, or more than 12 times as much 
as in the deeper waters. 

Finally, it is important to note that the deep waters in the central 
area are much saltier than the waters from wells on the surrounding 
slopes. Thus, 34 samples were taken on the west side in the area of 
less than 25 parts per million, which includes nearly all of the exten- 
sive region lying west of the Santa Fe Central Railway. In these 
34 widely distributed samples the chlorine content ranged from 7 to 
25 parts and averaged 16 parts, a result which should be compared 
with that of the assays of the 9 samples of deep waters in the central 
area in which the chlorine ranged from 234 to 932 parts and averaged 
595 parts, or 37 times as much. 

CAUSE OF SALINITY. 

The salinity of the water in the central area results from the pro- 
cess described under "Source and disposal." The ground water is 
constantly being replenished at the borders by rainfall; responding 
to the force of gravity, it constantly moves valleyward; and in the 
low central area the accumulating surplus is constantly coming 
to the surface and being disposed of by evaporation. In its migration 
through the earth it picks up a load of salt which it takes into solu- 
tion, and when it evaporates it leaves this salt behind, thus adding 
to the salinity of the remaining water or to the amount of alkali 
in the soil. 

But the precise reason for the existing conditions is not so evident. 
In most of the area in which the sheet of saline water occurs the 
ground-water level is too far below the surface for capillarity to be 
effective in drawing up ground water within the reach of evaporation. 
Thus, in the wells from which were taken the 6 samples that were 
tested, the depth to water ranges from 7 to 36 feet, and capillarity 
is probably not effective for depths of more than 5 feet and quite 
certainly not for depths of more than 10 feet. Moreover, the salts 
drawn up by capillary action would be deposited near the surface 
where evaporation would occur, and it is not obvious how they 
would be carried back so as to contribute to the salinity of the ground 
water. It is also necessary to account for the salt content in the 
deeper waters at the center. The most reasonable hypothesis is 



QUALITY OF THE WATER. 21 

that at various horizons in the valley fill of the central area there are 
beds which are impregnated with salt that was deposited by evaporat- 
ing waters at the time they were formed, and that afterward these 
beds became buried under new accumulations of valley fill. It is 
not unlikely that the shallow sheet of brine coincides approximately 
with a buried salt deposit laid down at the bottom of the ancient 
lake at a certain stage of its existence. This hypothesis will also 
explain the sharp boundary of the area. 

EFFECT OF DISSOLVED SOLIDS. 

Small amounts of the constituents commonly found in natural 
waters are not harmful to health. Chlorides are not objectionable 
in drinking water if only 50 to 100 parts per million are present, but 
amounts clearly perceptible to the taste render water unpalatable. 
Magnesic or sodic sulphated waters are laxative, and excessive 
magnesium or sodium content renders water unfit for man and beast. 
The worst form of alkali water — that containing alkaline carbonates — 
was not found in this region. 

Calcium and magnesium render water hard and therefore poor 
for toilet and laundry uses. Bicarbonate and an equivalent quantity 
of calcium and magnesium are removed from water by boiling, but 
the calcium and magnesium in excess of this amount, such as would 
be present in gypsiferous waters, can not be precipitated by boiling. 
Sodium and potassium do not consume soap and therefore do not 
make water hard. 

Water containing relatively large amounts of most kinds of dis- 
solved mineral matter is tolerated by plants. Among the common 
sodium salts, the most injurious is sodium carbonate and the least 
injurious is sodium sulphate; sodium chloride occupies an interme- 
diate position. The effect of dissolved solids in irrigation water is 
more fully discussed under the next heading — " Irrigation." 



22 



GKOUXD WATERS OF ESTAXCTA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 



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24 GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 

IRRIGATION. 

Much of the water that falls as rain is lost or is of very small service 
in agriculture. If only a small part of tins water that is now lost 
can be recovered and applied to growing crops it will greatly increase 
the agricultural product of the valley. Recovery is possible in two 
ways — (1) by storing storm water, (2) by pumping ground water. 
The storage of storm water is not here considered. 

UTILIZATION OF GROUND WATER. 
PRESENT DEVELOPMENT. 

At the time the valley was visited (the summer of 1909) little had 
been accomplished in the way of irrigating with ground water, 
although a number of gardens and other small plats were being irri- 
gated from this source by means of windmills, and somewhat more 
ambitious projects were being undertaken by S. Spore, L. Knight, 
E. A. Yon de Veld, and H. C. Williams. 

POSSIBILITIES OF FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. 

The data already given seem to indicate that, without seriously 
depleting the present supply, enough water can annually be with- 
drawn from the underground reservoir to increase materially the 
total production of the valley, but that, on the other hand, however 
economically such water may be applied, it is not sufficient in amount 
to irrigate more than a small part of the total acreage of arable land. 
If it is once proved that pumping for irrigation is feasible and profit- 
able, the danger of overdevelopment will become imminent. 

PROPER TYPE OF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. 

Irrigation with surface water has necessitated large cooperative 
projects, but the problem of irrigating with ground water, even on a 
large scale, is essentially different. In Estancia Valley each farmer 
should develop his own supply, install his own pumping plant, and 
construct his own reservoirs and system of distribution. This 
method of development will insure a maximum supply with a mini- 
mum lowering of the head, and will involve the least lift and the least 
loss in distribution. The only respect in which cooperation may be 
found profitable will be hi installing a central power plant. 

PROPER TYPES OF WELLS. 

Where large supplies are required, as for irrigation, they can best 
be obtained by drilling in search of thick beds of clean, coarse gravel 
that will yield freely, if necessary, sinking at least to the bottom of the 



IRRIGATION. 25 

valley fill. There are three reasons why deep drilled wells are likely 
to yield much more water than shallow wells that stop a short dis- 
tance below the ground-water level: (1) The thickest and best beds of 
gravel may occur at great depth; (2) of two similar beds the one at a 
considerable depth below T the ground-water level is likely to yield 
much more than the one only slightly below this level, because the 
water in the deeper bed is under much greater artesian pressure; 
(3) if a deep well is properly finished with perforated easing, it can 
simultaneously receive supplies from all water-bearing beds that it 
penetrates. 

If a single well will not yield enough, a group of wells can be 
drilled. A large pump can then be inserted at the bottom of a cen- 
trally located pit dug to the ground-water level, or somewhat lower, 
and suction pipes from all the wells can be connected with it; or, if 
it is desired to use a chain and bucket elevator, the central pit can 
be sunk to a considerable depth below the ground-water level and 
the drilled wells can be connected by horizontal tunnels or pipes 
with the bottom of the pit, into which they will then discharge. 
Since the cost of pumping increases with the lift, it will be economy 
to have so many wells that the water in them will not be greatly 
lowered by pumping. In either system above described some ex- 
pense will be involved in connecting the various wells. 

For large supplies, beds of very fine sand should be cased out, 
because this sand yields its water slowlv and causes trouble bv rising 
in the wells. Screens can be employed to shut out the sand, but they 
are liable to become clogged in a short time and to require much 
attention. Difficulty with sand in w^ells can be brought to a minimum 
by pumping slowly or by having a large number of wells so connected 
that water is drawn only slowly from each. 

Where no satisfactory water-bearing bed can be found and where 
the shallow water is not saline it may be possible to obtain valuable 
supplies from large dug wells or from systems of infiltration galleries, 
or it may be feasible to bring up the total yield by combining these 
wdth deep wells. If possible the maximum yield of the system of 
wells should be kept much greater than the capacity of the pumps, as 
this will reduce to a minimum the cost of lifting the water, the wear 
and tear of the machinery, and in some places the deterioration of the 
wells. 

GRAVITY INFILTRATION DITCHES. 

The fact that it is possible to lead water by gravity from the shallow- 
water belt on the west side out upon lower ground to the east makes 
this scheme for irrigation appear very attractive, but it is not believed 
that enough water can he recovered in this way to justify the neces- 
sary expense of construction. The same money will be better 



26 



GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 



invested in wells and a pumping plant with which a larger, more 
reliable, and more elastic supply can be obtained. Professor Slichter 
discusses ditches of this type and makes the following concluding 
statements: a 

It should be noted that very few infiltration or underflow canals are in actual use 
for irrigation. Many pumping plants in use for irrigation have turned out to be both 
practicable and financially profitable, but the attempts to procure ground water by 
gravity have usually proved disappointing, and there are numerous abandoned 
underflow canals in many parts of the West. 

COST OF PUMPING. 

In estimating the cost of the water it is necessary to take into 
account the original cost of the wells, pumps, engines, reservoirs, 
ditches, and other equipment, and the cost of operation, which in- 
cludes fuel, oil, repairs, labor, and other items. In considering the 
original cost as a factor in the cost of a unit quantity of water it is 
most convenient to estimate the amount of deterioration of the plant 
in one year and to add this to the annual interest on the total amount 
invested in the plant. The sum should then be divided by the num- 
ber of units of water pumped in a year. Professor Slichter advises 
that the charge for depreciation and repairs should be estimated at 
not less than 10 per cent of the first cost of the plant. 

The following tables give the results of a number of tests of small 
pumping plants in the Arkansas Valley, Kansas, 6 and in the Rio 
Grande vallev, New Mexico: 

Tests of small pumping plants, Arkansas Valley, Kansas. 



Kind of pump. 



No. 3 centrifugal 

Menge 

Two vertical, 6 by 16 inch 

cylinder. 

Chain and bucket 

Do 

No. 4 centrifugal 

No. 3 centrifugal 

No. 14 centrifugal 

Two horizontal, 5 by 5 inch 

cylinders. 
No. 4 centrifugal 



Horse- 
power of 
engine. 



6 

10 
H 

7 

10 

6 
80 

3| 



Fuel used. 



Price of 
fuel per 
gallon. 



Gasoline. .\ 
...do.... 
...do.... 

...do.... 

...do 

...do.... 
...do.... 

Coal 

Gasoline. 

...do 



$0.22 
.20 
.22 

.21 
.22 
.12| 
.12| 
«4.00" 
• 12| 

.12* 



Total 
lift. 



Feet. 
22.1 
15.5 
15.06 

17.0 

15.8 

22.13 

17.60 

23.00 

21.7 

21.47 



Yield of 
well per 
minute. 



Gallons. 
272 
394 
91 

540 
215 
363 

198 

2,300 

96 

420 



Cost of 
fuel per 
acre-footd 
of water 



S2.93 
2.90 
3.75 



1.37 
2.78 
2.10 
1.67 
.85 
09 



1 
1.20 



Cost of 
fuel for 
each foot 
that an 
acre-foot 
is lifted. 



).13 
.19 
.25 

.08 
.18 
.09 
.09 
.04 
.05 

.06 



a Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 184. 

b Slichter, G S., The underflow in Arkansas Vallev in western Kansas: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. 
Survey No. 153, 1906, pp. 55 and 56. 

c Slichter, C S., Observations on the ground waters of the Rio Grande vallev: Water-Supply Paper 
U. S. Geol. Survey No. 141, 1905, pp. 34 and 35. 

d An acre-foot contains 325,850 gallons of water, which is enough to cover 1 acre to the depth of 1 foot. 

e Price per ton. 



COST OF PUMPING. 



27 








Principal data derived from 


tests of Rio Grande pumping 


plan 1 .-;. 






Horse- 
power. 


Fuel used. 


Price 

of 
fuel.a 


Total 
lift. 


Yield 

per 
minute. 


Cost of 
plant. 


Inter- 
est and 
depre- 
ciation 

per 
hour.b 


Labor 
and 

other 
cost 
per 

hour. 


Fuel 
cost 
per 
acre- 
foot. 


Total 
cost 
per 
acre- 
foot. 


10 


Elect rieil v 


$0.05 
.14 
.14 
.03 
.14 
.14 
.17 
.17 
.17 
.17 
.17 
.17 

2.00 
.17 

2.25 
.17 
.17 
.17 


Feet. 
38.93 
30. 70 
27.80 
36. 70 
41.45 
35.87 
45.58 
40.30 
40.45 
26.85 
34. 77 
36. 05 
34. 16 
43. 35 
29. 55 
23. 89 
35. 26 
32. 36 


Gallons. 
378 
269 
258 
938 

1,325 
658 
131 
658 
725 
648 
325 
271 
351 
464 

1,000 
837 
191 
750 


81,200 

800 

800 

3,000 

2,200 

1,500 

1,200 

1,200 

1,800 

900 

1,200 

800 

1,200 

2,000 

1,600 

992 

992 

<)! 12 


$0. 108 
.072 
.072 
.270 
.198 
.135 
.108 
.108 
.162 
.081 
.108 
.072 
,108 
.180 

.nt 

.090 
.090 
.090 


$0. 050 
.120 
.140 
.180 
.150 
.150 
.120 
.150 
.150 
.120 
.150 
.120 
.180 
.150 
.200 
.090 
.090 
.090 


$3.43 
2.26 
1.58 
.70 
1.43 
1.73 
3.73 
1.34 
2.52 
1.48 
5.14 
5.10 
3.47 
4.34 
2.83 
1.04 
5.80 
1.1(1 


$5.75 


8 


Gasoline 


ii. 1:5 


5i 


do 


6.02 


28 


Crude oil 


3. 17 


22 


Gasoline 


2.79 


15 


do 


4.10 


5 


....do 


13.20 


12 


do 


3.47 


21 


....do 


4.87 


8 


....do 


3.16 


12 


do 


9.57 


8 
10 


do 

Wood 


8.95 
7.91 


28 


(iasoline 


8.19 


20 


Wood 


4.70 


12 


Gasoline 


2.21 


12 

J 2 


do 

...do 


10.90 
2.46 









a The price of gasoline given is for 1 gallon, the price of electricity for 1 kilowatt-hour, the price of wood 
for 1 cord. 
t> The depreciation and repairs are calculated at 10 per cent of the original cost and the interest at 8 per cent. 

As near as it can be estimated from rather indefinite data obtained 
in regard to the plant of E. A. Von de Veld, northwest of Willard, the 
cost of fuel is about $3.50 an acre-foot. The water is here lifted 
with a 160-gallon chain and bucket elevator; the average lift is about 
30 feet, and the price paid for the gasoline was reported to be 31 
cents per gallon. According to these data, for each foot that an 
acre-foot of water is lifted the cost is about 1 1 § cents and the con- 
sumption of gasoline about 0.38 gallon. With the present capacity 
of the well, one-fifth of an acre-foot can be drawn conveniently in 
one full day; and on this basis if the plant is operated one hundred 
days it will consume $65 worth of gasoline and provide enough water 
to cover 20 acres to a depth of 1 .foot or 10 acres to a depth of 2 feet. 
With gasoline bought at minimum wholesale prices and with more 
careful adjustments between the capacities of engine, pump, and well, 
the cost for fuel can be reduced materially, but the above figures 
are believed to be valuable in giving an idea of what has been done 
in practical work. 

In a discussion of the cost of pumping in Arkansas Valley, Kansas, 
the following statement is made by Professor Slichter in regard to 
gas-producer plants: 

If plants of from 20 to 50 horsepower are constructed, as I believe they will inevitably 
be in the near future, the cheapest power will probably be found in the use of coal in 
small gas-producer plants in connection with gas engines. These small L r as-producer 
plants are largely automatic in action and can be operated by anyone. With hard coal 
or coke or charcoal at $8 per Ion, the cost of power would be less than one-half cent per 
horsepower for one hour, or only one-fifth of the cost of power from gasoline at 22 cents 
a gallon. The writer anticipates no difficulty, therefore, in keeping the cost of water 



28 



GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 



below 60 to 75 cents an acre-foot for fuel, or below $1.25 to $1.50 per acre-foot for total 
expense. Hundreds of such plants have been put in use in England during the past 
ten or more years, and they are in charge of unskilled labor. These gas-producer 
plants are used in England for a great variety of purposes, such as power for agricul- 
tural machinery and for small electric-light plants for country estates. They are 
used in as small units as 5 horsepower. 

In this country the producer-gas plants have been in use for several years, and at 
the present moment they are fast taking the place of steam power in new plants. 
The cost of a producer plant and gas engine is about the same as the cost of a steam 
engine and boiler of same size when everything is included, but the cost of power from 
the producer-gas plant is very much less than that obtained from small steam engines. 

In producer plants ranging upward from 100 horsepower a style of plant may be 
installed in which soft coal or lignite may be successfully used. This still further 
cuts down the cost of power. In fact, large plants of this type furnish the cheapest 
artificial power that has yet been devised. The saving is not only in fuel, but also 
in labor, as one man is capable of running a 300-horsepower plant. 

In Estancia Valley gas-producer plants should be installed only 
after sufficiently large supplies of water have been developed to 
insure the success of such plants. A central power plant which will 
furnish an electric current for operating pumps on a number of farms 
may prove the most economical method of lifting water. 



WINDMILLS. 

Much has been written on irrigation with windmills. Their obvious 
advantage is that they utilize energy which is supplied by nature 
free of charge, but their original cost and the cost for oil and repairs 
are by no means negligible. Their greatest disadvantage lies in 
their dependence upon the wind, which may not blow at the time 
the water is most needed. They are best adapted to those parts of 
the valley where great depth to water or small yield permit irrigation 
on only a small scale. 

The following data, taken from the Yearbook of the Department 
of Agriculture for 1907, will give some conception of what can be 
done with windmills. If the lift is increased or decreased, the 
amount of water that can be pumped will be. decreased or increased 
in about the same ratio. 

Work done by a 12-foot windmill. 



Velocity of wind in miles per hour. 


Height 
water 
was 
lifted. 


Quantity 
of water 
pumped 
per hour. 


G 


• 


Feet. 
56 

50 
50 
50 
56 
50 


Gallons. 
89.76 


8 


269.28 


10 


501.10 


12 ; 


718. 08 


17 


1,271.00 


18 


1.353.88 









a It should be remembered that this statement is made for the Arkansas Valley, where the water is near 
the surface. 



VALUE OF CROPS. 
Work done by windmills of different sizes. 



29 



Size and type of windmill. 



16-foot, direct stroke 
14- foot, back geared 
13-foot, back geared 
12 foot, back geared 



Time. 



Days. 
45j 
45$ 
45i 

45i 



Average 

wind ve 

locity per 

hour. 



A files. 
12.98 
12.98 
12.98 
12.98 



Height 

water 

was 

lifted. 



Feet. 



56 
56 
56 

56 



Quantity of water 
pumped. 



Gallons. 
752,967 
666,991 
502,207 
408,854 



Acre-feet. 
2.31 
2.05 
1.54 
1.25 



VALUE OF CROPS. 

Intensive cultivation of crops that yield large returns per acre 
would, of course, leave the largest margin after the cost of the water 
is deducted and would thus guarantee the surest success for irriga- 
tion by pumping, but present calculations must be based upon such 
ordinary field crops as can be depended upon in respect to both 
yield and market value. It is not intended here to enter into a full 
discussion of the various crops that might be raised, but rather to 
state a few facts which will give some quantitative basis for com- 
paring crop returns with cost of water. 

In regard to alfalfa, Samuel Fortier, a chief of irrigation investiga- 
tions in the Department of Agriculture, states: 

Perhaps the most essential conditions for the production of alfalfa are abundant sun- 
shine, a high summer temperature, sufficient moisture, and a rich, deep, well-drained 
soil. All of these essentials, save moisture, exist naturally in the arid region of the 
United States, and when water is supplied it makes the conditions ideal. * * * 
It is grown successfully in every State and Territory of the arid region, in localities 
which are not only widely separated but possess many radical differences in the way 
of rainfall, temperature, altitude, topography, and soil. 

Mr. Fortier cites an experiment in Montana in which with 1 foot of 
irrigation water 4.42 tons of cured alfalfa per acre were produced, and 
with 2 feet, 6.35 tons, and adds: 

The results of this experiment seem to confirm the best practice of southern Cali- 
fornia, which may be summed up by stating that in localities having an annual rain- 
fall of about 12 inches remarkably heavy yields of alfalfa may be obtained from the 
use of 24 to 30 inches of irrigation water providing it is properly applied. 

C. A. Fisher b states that in the vicinity of Roswell, N. Mex., if 30 
inches per year are properly applied, three or four crops of alfalfa may 
be cut, an average yield being 1 ton to the acre for each cutting. 
V. L. Sullivan, territorial engineer of New Mexico, estimates c that 
"the yield of hay (alfalfa) in this part of the United States is 2 to 7 
tons an acre when grown under irrigation; an average of 5 tons is a 
conservative estimate, usually producing a net return of $10 per ton." 

a Irrigation ef alfalfa: Farmers' Bull. No. 373, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1909. 

b Geology and underground waters of Roswell artesian area, New Mexico: Water-Supply Paper U. B 
Geol. Survey No. 158, 1906, p. 28. 
t Irrigation in Now Mexico: Farmers' Hull. No. 215, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1909, p. 17. 



30 GROUND WATERS OF ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 

Alfalfa seed is a valuable though rather uncertain crop, but it requires 
little water and could perhaps be raised to advantage after one crop of 
hay had been harvested. 

Good crops of wheat, oats, and other cereals could no doubt be 
raised by irrigation, but a given amount of water would probably 
accomplish more if applied to beans, potatoes, or forage plants such 
as cane, Milo maize, and kathr corn. Beets, melons, and vegetables 
are said to thrive well when moisture is applied, and some kinds of 
fruit could be raised. 

BEST USE OF THE WATER. 

The most hopeful view of the future of irrigation in Estancia Val- 
ley can not alter the conclusion that this valley must remain essen- 
tially a grazing or dry-farming region. Grazing yields veiy small 
returns per acre; dry farming may. if the elements happen to be 
propitious, yield vastly more. But the elements are and always will 
be capricious, and the farmer who must depend upon them entirely 
will necessarily have a precarious lot. The available water will, of 
course, be utilized in various ways, but it would seem that in the 
main it would be put to its best use when it is employed to supple- 
ment dry farming and stock raising. 

In the first place, every farmer should irrigate a few shade trees, a 
small orchard, a small grass lawn, and a garden containing vegetables, 
shrubs, and flowers. These things will contribute much to the com- 
fort of farm life, and, moreover, the garden will be of substantial value 
in supplying food for the household and in making it possible to tide 
over dry years. One of the very few examples of such irrigation at 
present found in the wide expanse of the valley is at the old Moriarty 
ranch. A small supply of water will provide these essentials. Indeed, 
there are few localities in the valley where enough water can not be 
obtained, or where it is so deep that the farmer can not afford to 
pump it for this purpose. For this kind of irrigation windmills will 
be useful, but it will be well to supplement them by small gasoline 
engines, so that the supply will not fail at the time it is most needed. 

Where plentiful supplies of water are available within a compara- 
tively short distance of the surface it may be profitable to install a 
larger plant and to irrigate a number of additional acres, on winch can 
be raised alfalfa or forage, which will have a high value if fed to the 
stock on the farm in the winter or in times of extreme drought, when 
otherwise the stock would suffer severely; or a portion of the water 
can be used to raise for the market some more intensive crop, such as 
beans or potatoes, the proceeds of which will help to tide over years 
of failure in dry farming. 

More than this, it may be that the ground water can be used to 
some extent to supplement dry farming directly. The damage to 












THE ALKALI PROBLEM. 31 

crops is due perhaps less to the absolute deficiency of rainfall than to 
its irregularity and uncertainty. For example, enough rain may fall 
throughout the growing season to produce a fair yield except in one 
period of drought. If during this period the ground could be given 
one good wetting, success would be assured; but the wetting does not 
come and the farmer stands helplessly by to see his crop a total 
failure. It requires no argument to show that irrigation water at 
this critical time would have a value out of all proportion to that of 
its ordinary crop-producing power. It is also evident that a rela- 
tively small amount of water, considered for the entire year, would 
cover a large acreage; and it will be readily appreciated by the dry 
farmer who has gone through the hard experience of seeing his entire 
crop ruined that if, by means of the artificial application of water, 
only a small portion of his crop can be saved, it will be infinitely better 
than failure. There will, of course, be difficulties in developing a 
feasible method of combining irrigation and dry farming, but there 
appears to be no inherent reason why such a combination method 
can not be evolved. 

The limits to the area in which the larger use of water is prac- 
ticable and the limits to the amount of irrigation that is possible in 
any given locality witliin this area must be determined gradually 
by experience. The situation tends strongly toward an economical 
use of the water, and economy will tend in two ways to enlarge the 
scope of irrigation. It will reduce to a minimum the expense of 
pumping and the waste of the limited underground supply. The 
first concerns the immediate welfare of the individual; the second 
concerns the permanent welfare of the entire community. To a cer- 
tain extent individual self-interest will here abet the public welfare, 
for the pump wall not be operated except when necessary. 

THE ALKALI PROBLEM. 

The answer to the question whether a certain quality of water 
can be successfully used for irrigation depends largely on a number 
of related conditions, among which may be mentioned the kind of 
crops to be raised, the amount of alkali already in the soil, the natural 
drainage of the land or the ease with which artificial drainage could 
be established, and the cost and abundance of the water itself. If 
all these conditions are favorable, water containing large amounts 
of sodium sulphate and sodium chloride can be used with success, 
but if all or most of them are unfavorable the case is entirely dif- 
ferent. 

During the summer of 1902 T. H. Means, of the Bureau of Soils, 
visited certain oases in the Sahara Desert in eastern Algeria, in which 
waters carrying large quantities of soluble matter are used success- 
fully for irrigation. Some of the vegetables successfully grown are 



32 GROUND WATERS OF ESTAXCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO. 

those considered sensitive to alkali, and yet they were being irrigated 
with water containing, in some places, as much as 8,000 parts per 
million of soluble salts, sometimes as much as one-half of these salts 
being sodium chloride. The methods used are described as follows: a 

The Arab gardens are divided into small plots, about 20 feet square, between which 
run drainage ditches dug to a depth of about 3 feet. The soils being very light and 
sandy, this ditching at short intervals insures the most rapid and thorough drainage. 
Irrigation is by the check method, and application is made at least once a week, 
though often two wettings a week are deemed necessary. A large quantity of water 
is used at each irrigation. Thus a continuous movement of the water downward is 
maintained, there is little opportunity for the soil water to become more concentrated 
than the water as applied, and the intervals between irrigations being so short but 
little accumulation of salt from evaporation at the surface takes place. What concen- 
tration or accumulation does occur is quickly corrected by the succeeding irrigation. 

It is essential to note that the successful use of this water depends 
entirely upon good drainage conditions and the application of large 
amounts of water. In the same paper, Means says: 

The limit for concentration for irrigation water in the United States, even where only 
the most resistant crops are to be grown, has been placed by some authorities at 300 
parts sodium chloride (common salt) or sodium carbonate (black alkali) and at from 
1,700 to 3.000 parts of the less harmful salts, per million of water. & Those who place 
the low limit of safety for alkaline irrigation waters have taught that where water was 
badly alkaline irrigation should be sparing. They have not insisted on thorough 
drainage, and they have warned irrigators against too frequent irrigation. With such 
practices the limit of concentration which they set is probably high enough, and even 
then all except the most sandy soils or those with exceptionally good natural drainage 
would ultimately be damaged. 

Writing upon the same subject. C. X. Dorsey says: c 

When the soil contains a relatively large amount of salt and but little water con- 
taining much salt is frequently applied, the ordinary evaporation will increase the salt 
content of the soil to such an extent that crops can no longer survive, whereas if ade- 
quate drainage is provided and a large amount of water is used the excess of salt 
resulting from the evaporation of previous applications of water may be removed and 
the soil moisture be maintained at nearly the same concentration as the water supply. 

The data given under "Soil" and "Quality of water" furnish a 
basis for a rather definite conclusion in regard to the feasibility of 
irrigating" in the alkali area of Estancia Valley. The samples of soil 
that were analyzed have a high alkali content, and the water hi the 
same region is rich in dissolved chlorides and sulphates. Within the 
area of saline shallow water (that is, the area in which the shallow 
ground water has a chlorine content of more than 1,000 parts per 
million), 9 samples of deeper water were tested, and the average 
chlorine content of these 9 samples was found to be 595 parts per 
million. On the assumption that all the chlorine is in equilibrium 

a Means, T. H., The use of alkaline and saline waters for irrigation: Bureau of Soils Circular No. 10, U. S. 
Dept. Agr. 
b In the original paper the quantities are expressed in parts per 100,000 of water, 
c Reclamation of alkali soils: Bull. Bureau of Soils No. 34, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1906, p. 11. 



SUMMARY. 33 

with sodium, the average content of common salt would be 982 parts 
per million, or more than 2,500 pounds per acre-foot. By the time 
10 feet of water would have been applied to a field, 25,000 pounds of 
common salt would have been placed on each acre irrigated, which 
would be 0.625 per cent of the soil if concentrated in the first foot, or 
0.156 per cent if distributed through the upper 4 feet. 

If good drainage conditions could be established and the water 
could be applied unsparingly, then, by the use of the deeper water, 
the alkali now in the soil and that introduced by the water could 
be disposed of by leaching it downward and draining it away. Un- 
fortunately the natural drainage is poor and the expense of estab- 
lishing artificial drainage would be too great. Unfortunately, too, 
the liberal use of water would be prevented by the limitations of the 
supply and the cost of pumping. In view of these facts the general 
conclusion can not be avoided that in the most alkaline portion of 
the central flat irrigation by pumping from wells is not feasible, and 
it becomes necessary to advise against expenditures for installing 
pumping plants within this area. A like caution should also be 
given for a wider region having poor drainage, water of intermediate 
chlorine content, or soil that shows any alkali symptoms, lest, in the 
course of time, the sparing application of well water will result in an 
injurious accumulation of alkali. 

SUMMARY. 

The conclusions in regard to irrigation with ground water can be 
briefly summarized as follows: 

In spite of the high cost of fuel, if the water is lifted in the most 
economical way and is wisely used, pumping for irrigation can under 
favorable conditions be made profitable. The underground supply 
is too small to irrigate more than a small part of the valley, but it 
is sufficient to add materially to the prosperity and comfort of the 
people. Even where the depth to water is great, the irrigation of 
a garden, lawn, and orchard will generally be feasible. In the 
((Mitral area, however, the presence of alkali may seriously impair 
the quality of the water or may prohibit its use. Taken as a whole, 
the water of Estancia Valley is a valuable resource that should be 
developed, but its development should be conducted carefully and 
with full cognizance of the inherent limitations. 

o 



V 








>o 







